There Was A Greater Chance Of
by Spirit of Light and Darkness
Summary: For BlazeClan's 3rd Challenge - Just A Phrase. "He plummeted down and down and down, bracing himself for the fall." Shadepaw and Poppypaw didn't want to die, but if they could survive, well, what else could happen? Oneshot.


**This is for the 3rd BlazeClan challenge!**

**Challenge: Just A Phrase **- **Very simple challenge. You can write about whatever you want, but I give you a sentence, and you have to include it in your story. Has to be at least 500 words for apprentices and 700 words for warriors.**

**Phrase: He plummeted down and down and down, bracing himself for the fall.**

**It's a bit rushed - not my best work. By the way, who else ships ShadexPoppy after reading this? Not my original intention, but after writing this, I see it.**

_UNLIKELY_

"Shadepaw!" Poppypaw meowed anxiously, casting a wide-eyed look behind her at the five rogues, running at full speed.

"I'm thinking," the soot-gray tom snapped back, pacing back and forth at the top of the cliff. He peered over the edge again, searching, for any way down. There _was_ a path, but the narrow beginning was several foxlengths from the top. Jumping would be too dangerous; there was a greater chance of Thornstar and Icestar having kits together than there was of one - let alone both - of them landing safely on the path.

"Oh, we should've never left the Clans, and now we're going to die…." Poppypaw moaned, starting to pace with her eyes closed – not the best idea, considering the looming drop mouselengths from her paws.

Shadepaw sighed. "Okay, we're going to have to try and jump to the beginning of the path."

Poppypaw spun around and stared at him, blue eyes huge. "Please tell me you're not serious."

He gave her a pointed look.

"You're crazy!" she exclaimed, looking over the edge at the afore-mentioned track.

"Do you have a better idea?" Shadepaw argued. "We might survive that; it's better than facing those rogues – who will be here, attacking us, _any minute now."_

"Sure, we _might _survive it, there's just a greater chance of Petalpaw breaking the warrior code," Poppypaw muttered, flicking her tail. "Okay. You first."

Shadepaw supposed it would be too much to ask his irritating clanmate to try his plan before he did. "Fine." He stepped to the edge, wishing he could leap from directly above the trail's start, but there were too many thorny brambles there; it was not an option, despite the fact the very beginning was the widest and safest place to land.

Shadepaw took a deep breath, closed his eyes, tensed his legs, and made the jump.

He plummeted down and down and down, bracing himself for the fall.

And then his legs buckled beneath him as he slammed into the hard stone with a painful jolt.

He distantly heard Poppypaw's voice, "I'm coming down!"

_Wha-_

"Oomph!" Shadepaw huffed as six pounds of tortoiseshell fur and muscle slammed onto him. "_Ouch!"_

Poppypaw peered down at him innocently. "Oops?"

Shadepaw narrowed his green eyes. "Oops?! Get off of me!"

_UNLIKELIER?_

Shadepaw and Poppypaw stumbled back into ForestClan's camp, exhausted and worried. They had first went to Poppypaw's Clan – MeadowClan – but they had found the camp empty. Poppypaw had been reassured by the fact there were no signs of a struggle, but Shadepaw was concerned something more sinister had taken place.

As the two apprentices passed through the gorse tunnel and into the camp, they both froze with shock.

The camp was overflowing with cats – from ForestClan and MeadowClan!

A young tabby tom ran up to them suddenly. "_Poppypaw?"_

"Thrushpaw!" Poppypaw meowed excitedly.

"It's Thrushflight," he murmured staring at her. Shadepaw vaguely remembered that Thrushpaw – Thrushflight - was Poppypaw's littermate along with Petalpaw. "We thought you two were dead!"

"No, just lost," Shadepaw replied. "But what's going on? Why are both Clans here?"

"Oh, right, you don't know. Thornstar and Icestar were secretly mates together, and now the Clans are united into one Clan – WarriorClan! Icestar is expecting Thornstar's kits now. You missed so much! Leafpaw and Darkpaw are now Leafshine and Darkpool – Petalpaw's not a warrior yet, though; her ceremony got pushed back because she apparently was breaking the warrior code by taking food from Twolegs! How weird, right? Everyone thought she'd be the last cat to break the code!"

Shadepaw and Poppypaw turned to each other, and shared a very special look.

_REALITY_

Shadepaw and Poppypaw stood over a pool in a sunny clearing, shocked into silence. A brown-and-white tabby she-cat with gentle golden eyes and starlight in her paws looked at them sympathetically.

"Do you see now why the stars could not let you land safely?" she asked.

"Yes," Shadepaw replied. "That... that was just..."

"_Weird_," Poppypaw filled in. "Petalpaw breaking the warrior code?"

"Icestar expecting _Thornstar's_ kits? _Why?"_

"Because of you two. Your destiny was to die there, and changing it, changes everything," the she-cat replied. "Go now. Rest. Join those who came before you in StarClan."

"Wait!" Poppypaw cried. "Who _are _you?"

The she-cat turned. A sparkle of amusement glinted in her eyes. "I am the Spirit, and that is all you need to know."


End file.
